...In its light, human history, for the first time, becomes intelligible, and human behaviour understandable as never before. This radical transformation in human understanding - which has come to a peak in the mid 1990's - I shall call "the new evolutionary enlightenment" . I confidently predict that, because it is based on fully tested scientific knowledge, it will far outshine the enlightenment of the 18th century.
-Derek Freeman-

That’s a very broad question, so let me give you a short answer. In many different ways both in terms of the channels that they use (vision, audition, olfaction) and the psychological mechanisms underlying their communicative exchanges. Moreover, species and individuals vary in their preferred channels and underlying mechanisms.

2.-Is symbolic language a human particularity? Is there any language instinct, as Pinker Suggests?

Yes, although some animals have been able to learn to use a system in which they use arbitrary signals to communicate desires and carry out requests. Moreover, several species can comprehend spoken language and carry out simple requests. With regard to the second question, humans have a predisposition to learn language but one should be careful not to obviate the importance of epigenetic factors in the ontogenesis of language.

In my view, from a phylogenetic and ontogenetic perspective it is hard to establish a simple relation between symbolism and language. Having said that, I think that our symbolic capacity is the basis for language but once language is acquired it can boost further our symbolic capacities.

4.-To what degree would you say animals have consciousness of themselves and the others? To what degree are they capable of attributing intentions to the others?

This is a difficult question for which we are missing much needed hard data. I suppose that it is possible but unless we can empirically verify this, it falls outside of the realm of science. One the other hand, there is good data suggesting that at least the great apes can attribute goals and intentions to others. There is still much debate about what is the basis of this attribution, some authors suggest that nonhuman animals can only anticipate behavior whereas others suggest that they go beyond this and postulate that they have some appreciation of certain mental states in others such as perception, knowledge or intention that cause others’ behavior.

5.-Do you think there is an innate moral grammar in human, as Hauser suggests? What morality can be found in apes?

The truth is that I do not know. I guess a lot depends on how one chooses to define the terms ‘morality’ and ‘innate’. With regard to the apes, I would say that they possess certain elements that play a key role in the development of moral systems in humans. For instance, they are capable of making the distinction between intentional and accidental actions. This distinction is crucial for humans as it plays a central role in things as diverse as our legal systems (i.e., the difference between murder and manslaughter resides on the intent to kill), our social norms and even the games that we play. From this point of view human morality is not that different from language in the sense that we share with other animals some abilities that were instrumental in the evolution of human language or moral systems. In other words, certain abilities were already in place before language or morality evolved.

6.-Could you tell us something about your field and lab work with our primate relatives?

One of the topics that we are currently investigating is the kind of mental representations that apes construct of the tools that they use. When humans look at a tool, they do not simply perceive a set of perceptual features (e.g., color, size, material), we also classify tools with regard to its functional features (i.e., what is this tool good for). In collaboration with C. Sanz and D. Morgan we have recently documented that chimpanzees in the Goualougo triangle in the Republic of Congo fashion brushed-tipped tools to extract termites. Chimpanzees make these brushes, which we have shown are more effective for getting termites than unmodified tools, prior to the first tool insertion in a hole that they have created. This means that brushes are not a result of repeated use but represent a design feature that allows chimpanzees to improve their termite fishing technique. In the lab, H. Marin, A. Gross and I are investigating whether apes can select tools based on their rigidity. This is important because some scholars have argued that chimpanzees in the wild may be using tool familiarity as the key to allow them to select appropriate tools. In other words, simply select tools that you are familiar with and that have worked in the past. Although familiarity may be implicated in tool selection, we do not think that it is the whole story because apes in the lab presented with various novel tools that they have never seen before select the rigid one from the very first trial even if they have only seen whether the tool bends or not. This means that they do not even need to touch the tool or see the tool used to get the reward to make the correct choice!

7.-What would you say it has been the evolution of mind and brain in humans? Between the ecological and the social hypothesis, what would you choose?

I think that both ecological and social factors are important and have contributed to the evolution of cognition in humans. However, if I had to choose one of the two, I would choose the social factors simply because humans are above all cultural animals. It is hard to understand human behavior without culture, and culture is eminently a social enterprise. Even the greatest cognitive achievements such as algebra or quantum physics that allow us to solve complex ecological problems would not have arisen without the existence of a cumulative culture.

8.-What are you working on now? What is your highest intellectual challenge? What is the mystery you would dream to unveil?

It is hard for me to choose one specific aspect to study because I firmly believe that in order to understand complex cognitive systems it is necessary to investigate them and to probe their capabilities from a number of angles. This is why I am interested topics as diverse as inhibitory control, inferential reasoning, planning, social cognition and social learning. Now if you are asking me about a single sentence that summarizes my research interests, I would say that I am interested on how animals process information – how they acquire, transform, store and use information. One particular aspect that I think we still have a lot to learn about is the role that metacognition (i.e., knowing that one knows) plays in the decisions that animals make. Scientists have already made some inroads into this territory but I think that there is still much to be discovered in years to come. En castellano:

Sarah B. Hrdy. American anthropologist and primatologist who has made several major contributions to evolutionary psychology and sociobiology.

"Recommendation of Javier Moreno, Germanico: Senor Moreno interviewed me on line for his compilation the New Evolutionary Enlightenment.I found his questions both intelligent and penetrating. I enjoyed answering them and being caused to think in depth about serious and sometimes fundamental matters. He has considerable talent in an area in which interviewers are prone to be lamentably superficial".

John Postgate, Profesor Emérito de Microbiología.de la Universidad de Sussex.

“Javier is editor of "The new Evolutionary Enlightenment" (http://ilevolucionista.blogspot.com), which is a blog concerned with the science and philosophy of Mind. His many interviews with leading researchers in this field provide valuable insights into current thinking about Mind.”

“Javier interviewed me as Editor of La Nueva Ilustración Evolucionista in a most knowledgable yet empathic way. I was well pleased with the result and consider that his on line site speaks for itself with so many excellent, highly readable and pertinent interviews. I can thoroughly recommend him".

“Javier interviewed me for his website http://www.ilevolucionista.blogspot.com/ in 2009. He has built up an impressive collection of interviews there with almost every key thinker in evolutionary psychology. This in itself is testimony to his professionalism, dedication, and intellectual curiosity".

Dylan Evans, Lecturer in Behavioural Science, University College Cork.

“Javier Moreno, aka "Germanico," has performed an important service in making the work of scholars and writers in the field of evolutionary biology and allied fields accessible to the wider interantional public by designing and curating the website La Nueva Ilustración Evolucionista / The New Evolutionary Enlightenment. From my own experience as one of the participants and a reader of dozens of other entries, I can attest that the interviews are conducted in a penetrating fashion with the objective of extracting the most distinctive aspects of each writer's work, the translations (between English and Spanish as required) are done in a careful and lucid fashion, and the physical production is of a high aesthetic quality. In my opinion, Javier has made an original and useful contribution to world culture".

Stuart Newman, Professor, New York Medical College.

"This website is an extraordinary labour of love, with detailed and penetrating questions to many of the leading figures in evolutionary biology. It is a tribute to the quality of the questions, and their creative online presentation, that so many notable evolutionary biologists have answered, not merely quick answers, but detailed and comprehensive essays in many cases. This is an unusual and meaningful achievement".

"One of the most interesting interview sites for the sciences of human nature, available to Spanish- and English-speakers alike".

Steven Pinker. Catedrático de Psicología en Harvard.

“Javier's website, The new Evolutionary Enlightenment, is well worth a visit. You will find interviews with all the most interesting people thinking about the evolutionary basis of human behaviour (and also C & U Frith)”.

Chris Frith, Emeritus professor of neuropsychology, University College London.

"I'd like to recommend Javier "Germanico" Moreno as en amazing person, whose intellect and passion resulted in creation of one of the most professional popular-science web services. The list of the outstanding researchers from different fields of science, who took part in his project is really impressive. I'm sure he will be able to engage himself in other activities with equal passion and professionalism".